black empty windows !

[jibe]

Hi,

With Daryna/gnome, I often get black empty windows. This happens when another or several windows are already opened. Difficult to say if there is some relation between the new opened window and the already opened others. Maybe with the graphic lib ?

I can work around this by minimizing all windows, keeping only the one in use (I must minimize/restore it after I minimize all others, after that it displays correctly).

I had Bianca/gnome installed on this computer before, and had no problem.

Is it a bug, or a problem in my config ? How could I fix this ?

Thanks.

[MagnusB]

nVidia? Desktop Effects?

[Husse]

It's definitely not a bug in Daryna
Provide a few more facts
Have you got Compiz enabled
It is similar to some problems with Beryl/Compiz I've seen
Which video card and which driver (if unsure about the driver check /etc/X11/xorg.conf - the only section named just Device)

[jibe]

nVidia? Desktop Effects?

Yes, I forgot

I have an nVidia video card (GeForce3 TI 200) and activated nVidia proprietary driver.

Well, I wanted to see if I've the problem only with proprietary driver or also with generic, and I see that Envy was badly installed... Have to reboot now. I come back to say if it solves the problem or not...

[jibe]

Well, the problem is still here. But it's only when I activate the proprietary driver. So, it's not very important, and probably due to the driver ?

I can use the generic driver waiting for a solution or a new version. If it's not a bug and somebody knows the solution with the proprietary driver, I'm still interested

PS : sometimes, the problem is a lack of title bar or a transparent window with just the frame, instead of a black content.

[Husse]

Install the latest envy - got to "The Planet" for more info
http://www.linuxmint.com/planet/Alberto ... VIDIA_CUDA
then try a fresh install of the nvidia driver

[Husse]

Also (newbie question), what is the proprietary driver?

Closed source - it's the propriety of the hardware manufacturer
For many (most? all?) video cards this is the "only really good driver" if you want 3D

[jibe]

Ok, thanks.

The version of envy given with Synaptic is 0.9.8, and I had some difficulties to find the new 0.9.9 version. In fact, it can be downloaded from author's website. For those who want to try, just pay attention to the warning : uninstall all before !

I try and let you know...

[jibe]

Well, there is new nice effects
... but there is still the problem...

[Husse]

The explanation may be here

nVidia video card (GeForce3 TI 200)

That's a pretty old card.....
I did not see that until now. You need the legacy driver, sorry
Geforce 4 and older need the legacy driver
Uninstall your present driver
Go to
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
If you select Legacy > Geforce3>Linux 32 bit you should en up on
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_disp ... 43.01.html
Download that driver and follow the instructions on the page
It's slightly more complicated than using Envy but the computer can't bite you and in the end you've learned a bit more about the terminal...

[jibe]

Hi,

Thanks for your help, Husse !

the computer can't bite you

It didn't

... but it's a little stubborn : still the same problem...

Is it because I didn't install in the right run level, or badly uninstalled previous drivers ? I made a mistake : trying to get a French version, I downloaded and installed a bad version (not the legacy). It seemed to be partially installed, so I tried to unsinstall with Envy. Then, I got the right legacy version (english) and tried to install, but it complained that the X server was running.

I swapped to run level 1, but it complained that I should be running level 3. But with Mint, level 3 is running X !!! So I forced the installation in level 1... Seemed to work properly, but the problem is still here... Curious : I still have the funny effects I got yesterday with the new version of Envy. But maybe it's normal ?

[MagnusB]

For many (most? all?) video cards this is the "only really good driver" if you want 3D

Intel has open source drivers for most of their cards, even if you have to use 915resolution, I think Intel is the best way to go if you graphics on a linux box. nVidia second best, and ATI, for now, is the worst...

[Husse]

Forget about runlevels
Ubuntu does not use runlevels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runlevel#Ubuntu

[McLovin]

the computer can't bite you

you lie, mine bites me all the time, (but usually it's Windows that does the biting,

[jibe]

Hi,

Forget about runlevels
Ubuntu does not use runlevels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runlevel#Ubuntu

Ok. The problem is I don't know at all Upstart...
What does it means for my problem ? How can I install the right driver ? I'm afraid I have still the one installed by envy, as it does exactly the same : same problem and same graphic effects... At least, is there a way to know which one is installed ?

[jibe]

Up...

How can I install this driver without considering run levels when it complains about it ?

[nick]

Hi

Download driver to the desktop

logout
<control><Alt>F1

log into the terminal
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)
cd ~/Desktop
sudo sh Nvidia<tab> (as long as you have nothing else with a filename starting with Nvidia on your desktop, the tab button should autocomplete the name)

follow instructions
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

Nick

[Husse]

And to add to the question about runlevels
Ubuntu has three ways to run, you could call them runlevels but it is not - strictly speaking
This is Recovery mode, Pure command line and with Xserver started (gdm)
A bit not at all geeky way of saying it...

[jibe]

Hi,

Sorry to give news so late... very busy !

I was able to install the driver with nick's explanation. But it's always the same. What I feel curious is I have still the same graphic effects. Is it normal ? Should I have uninstalled the bad driver before installing the good one ? How ?

But I had no error message, all seemed to be ok...

[nick]

Hi

Try

http://wiki.compiz-fusion.org/Troubleshooting

Or Google compiz black windows.

There are lots of different fixes

Nick